At his best, Newton can make special throws with his plus arm strength, however the great plays also come with the caveat that he’s not an accurate down-to-down passer. . . His throw-for-throw volatilty has led to one outstanding season (2015) surrounded by a career of average to good performances, including his 2017 season in which he ranked only 25th in PFF grades at only 68.7 overall.

PFF usually does good work, but I don’t understand how you can talk about Newton’s game without even mentioning his mobility.

After all, rushing touchdowns count exactly the same on the scoreboard as passing touchdowns. If we only evaluated QBs based on their passing abilities, football would be a very different (and much more boring) sport.

Yes, Newton could stand to be a more accurate passer. Sure, he’s inconsistent from week to week. Ranking him below the likes of Marcus Mariota, Alex Smith, Derek Carr and Dak Prescott just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Maybe if Newton spent all his time checking down for two-yard completions he’d be considered a more accurate QB and would rank higher. Fortunately, the Panthers know where his true value lies.